Basic Information

Type Private
Geographical Reach National
Location Pasadena, CA
Population 10,500,000
Map of the United States

Weather

Comfortable Days 135 (97% 😎)
Sunshine Hours 3,300 (96% ☀️)
Days Without Precipitation 327 (98% 🏖️)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 1,024
Men / Women 55% / 45%
From State 33%
From Region 1%
Athletes 31.0%

Racial/Ethnic

Asian 36%
White 19%
Hispanic 18%
International 14%
Mixed 9%
Black 4%
Native American 0%

Schools & Majors

Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 32 25% / 75% 12% $77,348 73
Bioengineering 12 25% / 75% 17% $94,829 90
Engineering $112,142 97
Biology 12 17% / 83% 8% $65,889 48
Neuroscience 8 38% / 62% 12% $68,317 55
Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering 7 29% / 71% 14% $116,048 98
Chemical Engineering 5 20% / 80% 20% $123,950 99
Chemistry 2 50% / 50% 0% $96,293 91
Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Engineering and Applied Science 177 57% / 43% 10% $146,198 100 100%
Electrical Engineering 12 67% / 33% 8% $148,501 100
Environmental Engineering 2 50% / 50% 0%
Materials Science (Engineering) 1 100% / 0% 0% $95,429 90
Mechanical Engineering 39 38% / 62% 0% $110,149 97
Computer Science 88 59% / 41% 11% $173,460 100 100%
Computing and Mathematical Sciences $188,198 100
Applied and Computational Mathematics 13 62% / 38% 0% $155,974 100
Physics 22 73% / 27% 27% $96,332 91
Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences 3 67% / 33% 0% $70,252 59
Geochemistry 1 0% / 100% 0% $70,923 61
Geological and Planetary Sciences 2 100% / 0% 0% $69,917 58
Geophysics and Seismology $70,482 60
Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Humanities and Social Sciences 3 67% / 33% 0% $172,249 100
Business, Economics, and Management 3 67% / 33% 0% $172,249 100
Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy 28 82% / 18% 11% $125,838 99
Astrophysics 8 62% / 38% 12% $93,893 89
Mathematics 18 94% / 6% 11% $140,037 100
Planetary Science 2 50% / 50% 0%

Financial

Tuition & Fees $70,837
ROI Percentile 99th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 97%
4-Year Graduation Rate 77%
6-Year Graduation Rate 94%
Transfer-Out Rate 4%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

% Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Computer Science 35.2% 88 59% / 41% 11% $173,460 100 100%
Engineering 28.4% 71 41% / 59% 6% $114,941 98
Physical Sciences & Math 27.2% 68 74% / 26% 13% $118,517 98
Life & Natural Sciences 8.0% 20 25% / 75% 10% $66,860 51
Business & Economics 1.2% 3 67% / 33% 0% $172,249 100

Research R1

Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Physical Sciences & Math $257M #5 71% $22.5M 86 #31 573 260
Life & Natural Sciences $93.7M #59 69% $1.2M 22 #98 233 145
Engineering $75.7M #66 56% $17.7M 79 #50 537 126
Computer Science $9.7M #93 72% $0.5M 4 #152 11
Humanities & Social Sciences $4.0M #212 64% $0.1M
Business & Economics $0.3M #271 84% $0 9 #141 28
Agriculture & Food Science $0 #318 $0
Education $0 #457 $0
Health Sciences $0 #441 $0
Total $441M #73 68% $42.0M 200 #113 1,382 531

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes
Acceptance Rate 4%
Yield (Unbound) 51%
Restrictive Early Action Nov 1
Regular Decision Jan 3

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 4% 4% 4%

Early Action and Restrictive Early Action applicants are reported at the regular-decision rate.

Standardized Tests

Test Policy required
Submitted Test Scores 100%
SAT Range 1530 – 1580
SAT Math Range 780 – 800
SAT RW Range 740 – 780

Rankings

Academics

Crying in the Library at 3 AM Toughest Schools
All-Nighter Hall of Fame
Future Adjunct Professors Top PhD Feeders
Skipped Recess to Study Calculus
Can't Hide Behind Your GPA SAT-required, Highest Medians
1600-Aspiring

Prestige

Grandma Eyebrow Raisers Easy Brags for the Prestigious-Conscious
Nerd Cred

My Tribe

Tiger Mom Heaven Most Asian-Americans
Significant Presence

Engineering

It Actually IS Rocket Science Aerospace Engineering
To Infinity and Beyond
It's Not About Molecules, It's About Pipes Chemical Engineering
Math Masochists Scared of Actual Chemicals
Playing House Civil Engineering
Bridge Builders
Resistance Is Futile Computer Engineering
O(1) Touch Grass (Theoretically Computable)
Resistance Is Not Futile Electrical Engineering
Ohm My God
Hugging Trees with Calculus Environmental Engineering
Pollution Police
Is It a Solid? Is It a Liquid? Yes. Materials Engineering
Atomic Architects
WD-40 & Duct Tape Mechanical Engineering & Robotics
Mad Scientists' Machine Shop
We Glow In The Dark Nuclear Engineering
Atom Splitters

Computer Science

Explaining That HTML is Not a Programming Language Computer Science (A&S)
Chalkboard Masochists

Physical Sciences & Math

Quants, Proofs & p < 0.05 Applied Mathematics & Statistics
The Bayesian Quant Overlords
Breaking Bad Chemistry
Quantum Masochists & Chalkboard Wizards
Rocks and Whales Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
Plate Tectonics Elite
The "I Understand Interstellar" Elite Physics & Astronomy
We Cited Ourselves in the Standard Model
No Words Allowed Pure Mathematics
Proof is in the Pudding

Life & Natural Sciences

Pre-Med Reject Waiting Room Biology
Lab Gods
Lord of the Petri Dish Microbiology & Immunology
Agar Aristocracy
Staring at a Gel Electrophoresis Until Our Eyes Bleed Molecular Biology & Genomics
CRISPR Crew

Agriculture & Food Science

Doomsday Prepping with Data Environmental Science
Climate Warriors

Business & Economics

It's Basic Supply and Demand, Bro Economics
Math Masochists & Stata Sorcerers

Humanities & Social Sciences

Model UN Generation Government & Politics
The Filibuster